It’s a (disproven) stereotype that those with autism can’t lie. Some Auties and Aspies CAN and DO lie and have talked openly about how and why they did or were compelled to. Others can’t or don’t. But what defines the difference? What decides who can and does, who can and doesn’t, who can’t but would if they could, who can’t but even if they could wouldn’t? Read the rest of this entry »
Someone came to my blog first thing in the morning to try and post a comment wherever they could. With a belly full of hate for breakfast, she was being loyal to a flamer who had inflamed her hatred (against me) the day before. Read the rest of this entry »
Remember when you could buy cheap broken biscuits in a brown paper bag? Of course many a narcissist may snub the broken biscuit but the rest of us know that broken biscuits taste just as good and you can gather up enough pieces to enjoy more than you would have with one whole biscuit. Sometimes, too the broken biscuit is the best one in the tin. And so it is with the album, Broken Biscuit. With a surplus of physical CDs at CD Baby, Broken Biscuit is going for just $5 while stocks last. Go have a taste. Enjoy … And now for a moment of complete silliness: me and Aspinaut Anthony Julian dagging out together not long after I finished chemo and got some hair back 
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In the book, Everyday Heaven, I wrote about love, loss and autistic adventures in sexuality and sexual orientation. The book started out with my first marriage to “Iain”, a latent homosexual, through our inevitable divorce, falling in love and experiencing awakening healthy sexuality for the first time albeit in a relationship doomed to fail, rebounding into homosexuality, and finding myself instead pressured quickly into a lesbian defacto relationship with “Shelly”, then coming to terms with realising I was actually more straight than I was gay and finally ending up in the wonderful marriage I’ve been in now for over 10 years. But along the way this adventure in social diversity taught me a few things. Read the rest of this entry »
Facts About Facilitated Communication
by Douglas Biklen
from http://www.autism-resources.com/papers/facts_about_FC Read the rest of this entry »
Anne McDonald
‘Autism‘ is one word but underlying autistic development and behaviour can be a ‘fruit salad‘ of conditions. One of those is commonly Agnosias. Gnosia means ‘to know’. Agnosias are where the brain struggles to put meaning to incoming sensory information. Common agnosias in those with autism include Read the rest of this entry »
‘Autism‘ is one word but underlying autistic development and behaviour can be a ‘fruit salad‘ of conditions. These conditions will often result in a range of voluntary and involuntary behaviors but how can you tell them apart and what are the low cost/no cost strategies for each? Read the rest of this entry »
When I was nine years old I could read at a very advanced level, I had grasped how to pronounce written words and I was proud of my ability. Then it was realised that I had basically no ability to process anything I was reading for meaning. Read the rest of this entry »
As an autism consultant since 1996, I have worked with attachment disordered kids with autism and those who are not. We are often daunted by the idea of attachment disorders in those with autism. It’s a taboo topic and conjures up images of archaic psychotherapy and Refrigerator Mother theory. But attachment disorders can also occur in people who have never experienced abuse, neglect or inconsistency of carers. Read the rest of this entry »
Donna Williams is an Australian born adult with autism who was assessed as psychotic at the age of 2 in 1965, labelled disturbed in the 1970s and diagnosed as autistic in her 20s in 1991.
She acquired functional speech in late childhood and went on to become a qualified teacher with an honors degree in Sociology and a degree in Linguistics. She is the author of two international bestselling autobiographies and has 10 published books including 4 text books widely used in autism education and two books of poetry and prose.
As a screenwriter, she wrote the screenplay to “Nobody Nowhere“, the first book in her 4 book autobiographical series. That screenplay is currently under option to become a Hollywood film. She is an professional artist, singer-songwriter and published poet as well as a world renowned public speaker on autism now living with her husband in Australia. In her presentations she draws not only on her own experiences but on international experience as a professional autism consultant since 1996.
Donna’s is a speaker in demand around the world due to her unique perspective and ability to share her feelings and experiences on a very personal level. More information about her and her life’s work can be found on her website at http://www.donnawilliams.net .